The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-02-06
FEBRUARY 6, 1ss7-TWELvE PAGES.
the manufacturers chance to exercise their in
genuitv in getting out leopard-skin cotton
oluchaa

the manufacturers cn6nce TO exercise tnelr IN |
yenuitv in getting out leopard-skin cotton |
pushes.
We are well along towards the end off the |
dancing season. The last of the Patriarchs' as
semblies was given this week, and altogether the
Astor- Vanderbilt set has had about enough of
the heel and toe exercise for the winter Life
and death are singularly associated in my mind
as revert to this particular occasion. Iremem-
Der that. at midnight. was watching young
August Belmont. jr., dancing gavotte with
Mrs. William Waldorf Astor This is q dance
the holidays and 1t has somewhat quickened the
tagging interest in the sport of the waxed floor
It is rather ballet-like in its aspect-and ntri-
cate combination of waltz and polka-ard orig
inally intended, / believe, for little boys and
girls But the active bellies and beaux like to
show expert athletic ability nowadays. and so
they have taken up the gavotte suddenly. To
practice it you have to take three quick, glding
Same direction, and finally make threes step
polka half-turn before repeating the operation.
You can see that the slow step, coming in in
congruously after three glides. breaks up the
continuity of movement and imparts profes-
sional sort of skip-and-go -go-one caper. Neverthe-
less, those who are apt and graceful look well
while doing it, and take pride in fixing the ad-
miration of the spectators. The junior August
Belmont and the beautiful daughter-in-law OF
the Astors were particularly successful IN the
gavotte, and their performance was the most dis
tinctive feature of the ball. But in recalling 1t
discover that, at the very time August Belmont
was thus handsomely making merry, his brother
Raymond was shooting himself to death at home
in his fathers cellar. How shlveringly close the
comedies and tragedies of real life played to-
gether.
1t is going somewhat outside of exclusive soci
crA HIvv
Gebhard though connected by family with the
inner circles, is rather under taboo by reason OF
his social gymnastics; and yet in announcing. as
do, on undoubted authority, the forthcoming
wedlock of the two persons SO long coupled in
public adventure, l am writing OF a marriage
that wil%be discussed subject among the nobs.
Strangely enough, as my readers may think,
Mrs. Langtry is the one who hesitates to go TO
the altar. She can be rid bv divorce OF her pres
ent husband in any week that she desires, for he
has abandoned her, and her lawyers are almost
through with the necessary proceedings. But
she is a most conservative sort OF woman, despite
what may generally be thought of her: she is not
in the least a sensatonalist, beyond turning her
fame as a court beauty to advertising account as
an actress; and now she is so rich, so we'll along
on the stage, and desirous of leading decor
GUS life, that she has no c.ind to mate with a
rattle Drained fellow. But she loves Fred, he
loves her, they have marked out a life of marital
happiness and the wedding will occur within
three months They will have money in plenty
between them, and they will expect to 60 into
society. How about that2
Murray Hill likes amateur play acting when
it isn't so good as to be mistaken for professional
work, but is not sure that the amusement is 80
cially safe. Some slight blurring of lines has
been detected by the watchful guardians of
society, and it is attributed to the dramatc-club
people who really can act. The fence-viewers
of swelldom have inspected the bounds, and re-
port that these. having been tampered with, need
to be reset Accordingly, the most exquisite of
the dramatic clubs has split itself ntostwo sec
tions, one of which gives stage entertainments
| and the other gives sociabsee Thesheavy sNelis
| of the club got together and viewed with alarm
| the presence of the dramatic corps at the club
sociabes, which they deemed entirely socia-
| BILE, too promiscuous. In the dramatic corps of
| the club were people who had nothing but talent
| to qualify them for membership-they had
| neither money nor grandfathers The swell ele-
| mert congratulated itself upon possessing ances-
| tors and Doodle. and talent whatever. For
stage performances talent necessary. but in
/ society affairs the swells concluded it was not
| only useless but entirely out of place.
| They did not care about associating
| on equal terms with people who had
brains. Therefore, they resolved, in SWELL
club English, that ''the soclabies be
Il
| the dramatic corps Then the swell element
| formed new organization of the most exclusive
/ character to give sociables, and secured permis
/ sion to use the name Of the old club The plain
English of it is that the acting members good
| enough to do the work and give the club the
reputation Of possessing some histrionic ability,
| but are not swell enough to attend the society
rackets, and therefore are set aside by snobdom-
/ When these high-toned clubs give performances
at a tbeater they engage professional actors to
| help them make the acting endurabe to the pub
| lie. This raises the momentous question of the
| social standing of actors, and the clubs have
| been sadly worried by it. They did not know
how far to go in associatng with people who act
| for living. After young lady had been pub
| licly hugged on the stage by actor, she could
not tell just where to draw the line of social dis
| tinction It was very puzzling problem until
| one of the clubs hit upon happy solution The
swells made the interesting discovery thai
Courtenay Thorpe, the dude of the Vokes com
pany, had ancestors and was really person Of
| good family. Mr. Thorpe is the grandson of the
Countess Of Pomfret, who married DR.
| Thorpe, an Irish minister, who occasionally
preached the royal family to sleep in the gooi
old times. It was also ascertained that Mr.
Walden Ramsey. another actor of the dand,
type, belonged to a Southern family that laid
claims to blue blood because it owned slave.
during the Society certainly could receive
| the grandeur of a countess and a Southern gen
| tleman without inquiring how they made their
living, and the question of social standing being
settled, it was fortunate that the gentlemen
could act and help the swell club give endura
BILE entertainment. The two actors appeared il
a recent amateur performance and carried ths
play through, and they suddenly find themselve
| verp popular on Murray Hill How the Amer
lean will utilize his recognition by fashion is al
yet unknown, but the Epglishman has promptly
| decided that the dollars of Fifth avenue ar,
preferable to mere smiles. He has taken a thea
| ter for next Wednesday, and will then give read
ings tickets for which he is industriously ped
| ding in the circles of swelldom where he nigh
| otherwise find welcome, but which will be close,
to him by his plebeian, but perhaps sensible. eral
at the cash. CLARA BELLE.
/ COnsiderate Saloon Keeper.
| Minneapolis Tribune.
1t would be a good thing for tha saloon me